Precious Memories: Shimizu, Japan

12-Day Southeast Asia Cruise on Diamond Princess December 7~19, 2018

Day 2 - Shimizu, Japan (7:00 AM~4:00 PM)

This was the itinerary for our 12-Day cruise from Yokohama to Singapore on Diamond Princess:

12/7 Day 1 - Boarding the Diamond Princess, Yokohama, Japan

12/8 Day 2 - Shimizu, Japan

12/9 Day 3 - Osaka, Japan

12/10 Day 4 - At Sea

12/11 Day 5 - At Sea

12/12 Day 6 - Keelung, Taiwan

12/13 Day 7 - At Sea

12/14 Day 8 - Hong Kong

12/15 Day 9 - At Sea

12/16 Day 10 - Nha Trang, Vietnam

12/17 Day 11 - Phu My, Vietnam

12/18 Day 12 - At Sea

12/19 Day 13 - Singapore

Port of Shimizu

Shimizu is a port not too far from Yokohama, located at the northern end of Izu Peninsula. It is considered as one of the three most beautiful ports in Japan with Mt. Fuji towering in the distance, a perfect view on clear days. Shimizu with its close proximity to the city of Shizuoka, home of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo shogun, made this a historically rich area with interesting structures like the Sunpu Castle Park and Shizuoka Sengen Shrine. There is also the Miho-no-Matsubara pine tree grove, which is a World Heritage's site, making this as one of Japan's prime sightseeing destination.

We were suppose to be here on our NCL transpacific cruise last May but due to problems with the engine on Jewel, this port was canceled on that particular sailing. So, we were very much looking forward to spend our day in town.

Our ship arriving at the Shimizu port where vendors already setting up shops for the day.

As we were having breakfast at Horizon Court, SC came in with a beautiful picture of Mt. Fuji in full view up on the open deck.

Unfortunately, when we finished eating it was totally covered by clouds.

Main street from port leading up to the main part of town.

Our ship arrived at 7:00 but we did not get off the ship until after 8:30.

Our goal was to get to the Shin Shimizu train station (not the Shimizu JR station). There was no shuttles going to town, so we just took the 20-minute walk. It was OK on this sunny day though.

Made a right turn on the main street, passing by S-Pulse Dream Plaza and the ferris wheel. There were shuttle buses parked here but when I asked they told me that the buses won't be available until 10:00 and I think they only go to Shimizu JR station.

Crossing the overpass from S-Pulse Dream Plaza to the other side of the street making our ways to the Shin Shimizu station. Inside this plaza, there are museums, stores, and food courts making this a good stop for people who do not want to explore too far from port.

A quiet Saturday morning in Shimizu.

Here, we found the tiny train station. Tickets between Shin Shimizu and Shin Shizuoka cost 300Y each way. The staff at this station was very helpful. Seeing this group of tourists having a little problem getting their tickets they came out of their booth and got tickets for everyone. Thumbs up!

On the local train Shizuoka Tetsudo. This was an easy ride because we rode the whole route from the start of the line to the end.

Arrived at Shin-Shizuoka Station.

Within 10 minutes of walk from the station we reached the Sunpu Castle in Shizuoka.

Tstsumori

The tall building on the left is the Shizuoka Prefectural Government Office building where we would go up to the 21st floor for the view of the city later on.

Just a beautiful sight on this gorgeous morning as we walked to the main entrance of the castle.

A bronze statue of Yaji (left) and Kita (right) at the Ieyasu Promenade of Sunpu Castle.

According to Wikipedia, Yaji Robei and Kita Hachi are two men who lived in Edo. Yaji is married to a woman, while Kita is an actor addicted to various drugs. They decided to set out on a pilgrimage hoping to cure Kita of his drug addiction, encountering various characters and obstacles along the way, based on the story Tokaidochu Hizakurige.

Orange trees lined the promenade.

promenade

Map of the castle

Bridge leading up to the main entrance of the park.

Map of evacuation

Someone was feeding the fish in the water.

Entering the park with the Prefectural Government Office building in the background.

Oden Restaurant inside the park.

East Gate

"Sunpu Castle Park"

East Gate

We saw huge groups of tours from the Princess excursions here.

For some reason nothing was opened and we were not able to get inside the actual building of the castle, just like many other castles in Japan.

Door at the East Gate

Exit

Crossing the Azumamikado Bridge

East Gate and the bridge

As we were leaving for the train station, I suddenly remembered that we could go up to the 21st floor of the Prefectural Government Office building across the street for a view of the city and possibly Mt. Fuji.

Free admission and hardly anyone up there.

One would think that we could see Mt. Fuji on a clear day like this.

Unfortunately, it was still behind the clouds.

But we did have an excellent 360 degrees view of the city.

Walking back to the train station.

Across from the main entrance of the train station is a huge mall with plenty of shops and restaurants.

Inside the Shin Shizuoka station to take our ride back to Shimizu.

We were back at the very cute Shin Shimizu station in Shimizu after the 20-minute train ride.

Time to recharge with some fresh seafood at the Kashi-no-Ichi Market. About a 15-minute walk from the Shin Shimizu station. Tuna and sakura shrimp are the main features here.

It was quite busy on this Saturday here. The parking lot was full early on.

Inside the fish market.

After browsing through the fish market, we went up to the second floor and checked out the restaurants. Everything looked delicious and tempting.

It was difficult to decide but we finally picked this one. The reason was that we saw a huge group of Japanese seniors having lunch there and figured they must know their food well enough to pick this restaurant.

menu with photos

Yes, that's what I wanted!

ET couldn't have sashimi so she ordered the tempura shrimp. I did not get that whole shrimp in this picture though. It was like a whole foot long.

My set of fresh sashimi.

Yum! 1800 Yen

Inside the restaurant

Meal samples on display.

I also bought a pack of fried sakura shrimp crackers to try back at the fish market.

They were really good. 600Y per pack.

Walking back to port after lunch.

A cute garden with little figurines on display.

Crossing to Hinode Water Park area.

Back at the S-Pulse Dream Plaza

Amusement Center

Diamond Princess not far away.

Ferris Wheel

Famous cartoon figures

The tiniest 'beach'.

There were people selling collectibles and used items at the Marine Park. We did not find anything but one of our CC members bought a gorgeous pearl pin for $3.00.

Back in port, there were some food trucks selling different things.

The vendors were very busy selling their wares.

Back on board the ship a local geisha group had a unique performance inside the main theater for all the passengers in the afternoon.

Song and dance

At the end of the show, Lynn, the cruise director announced that Mt. Fuji was in full view. Everybody rushed out on deck to capture this precious moment. What a sight!

We had a short meeting with some cruisecritic members who will be going on the private tour that SC organized for Osaka at 4:00. It was great meeting all our travel companions. After the meeting we went back down to deck 7 to see the sail-away.